ORE - Original Research in English

Reality in the reality of the reality shows

Ankita Bora - 11 A

Vinoti Kabara - 11 E

Word count: 3027

Introduction

Reality television is a genre of television programming which presents ostensibly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and mostly features ordinary people instead of skilled actors. These shows give a break to the wonders dwelling in the interiors of the country to showcase their talent.

There are a number of sub-categories of reality television, which try to present different kinds of talent to the public. A few of them are:

  1. One of the most famous being, ‘reality competition’, or ‘reality game shows’, in which participants compete doing various tasks to win a prize. The participants often live together in a confined environment. At the end of the game show, one person is declared the winner, which is done by either disapproval voting or by voting for the most popular choice to win. Shows of this genre are, ‘American Idol’, ‘Big Brother’, ‘MTV Roadies’, etc.
  2. Secondly, there are fear centric shows which place the participants in frightening situations or locations. The aim is to generate emotions of fright, panic and disgust. Some of the shows which are fear centric are, ‘Fear Factor’, etc.
  3. Next we have reality television featuring hidden cameras rolling when random passers-by encounter a staged situation. The aim of the show is to amuse the viewers by the reactions of the contestants. Examples of such reality shows are, ‘Room 401’, etc.
  4. We even have talk shows as a form of reality television, where a host interviews a featured guest, and discusses topics which creates on screen drama or tension. Shows of this category are, ‘The jerry Springer Show’ etc.
  5. There are hoax reality shows, where a prank is being played on the cast members. The goal of hoaxes is to entertain the viewers.

These shows being entertaining, at the same time they are also very addicting. People spend a lot of time watching these reality shows. This is the reason why we have chosen this topic for our Original Research in English, as reality shows nowadays are the biggest happening amongst the teenagers and other age groups.

Literature Review

Addiction to anything leaves its effects behind on the person. As it has already been said, watching reality shows is also like an addiction, which affects the viewers in some way or the other.

The effect of reality television is not just a random issue but it is a matter to be considered. Many other people have also given a thought to it. They have expressed their views and opinion about this issue by publishing it in the internet or by writing it in their blogs. We want to review their comments on the effects of reality shows in our essay.

Kashmira Lad in her article has said, “Viewers of reality television who are addicted to these daily programs often get deeply involved into any situation. Often, certain reality television shows are based on topics that have no thought process or concepts. The audience just gets hooked on to TV shows, which do not really have any intelligent concept.” Her opinion of reality television is off putting as she feels that these shows have no intellectual notion about what to present in front of the audience. We partly agree with her outlook as reality shows do draw attention to and telecast persistent fights, gossips and disagreements between groups of people, which are not appropriate for viewing for a family audience, especially if they have little children.

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On the other hand, Kashmira even talks about the positive aspects of reality shows in her article. She expresses, “However, some reality shows may even show positive things, which viewers can learn and apply in their daily life.” This view of hers is also agreed by us, as reality television can make parson learn more about teamwork or be motivated in life to reach their goals or even chase a dream.

Next we have, Larry expressing hi views and opinion in his blog. He hits another important aspect of reality shows, that is, children watching reality from a different perspective. ...

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